Trump Establishes Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry
by Monte McCoin
On March 7, 2018, President Trump issued an executive order that launched the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry. The order revoked a presidential memorandum that had established a similar Federal Interagency Reentry Council as a U.S. Department of Justice initiative during the Obama administration.
Trump’s executive order formed the new council to “provide those who have engaged in criminal activity with greater opportunities to lead productive lives,” by identifying strategies to reduce both crime and recidivism through programs that address “mental health, vocational training, job creation, after-school programming, substance abuse, and mentoring” for people who have been in prison. According to the order, “Incarceration is necessary to improve public safety, but its effectiveness can be enhanced through evidence-based rehabilitation programs.”
Trump called for the heads of multiple federal agencies to serve as council members, including executives from the Department of Labor, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Treasury, Department of the Interior, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Commerce, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Office of Management and Budget. Andrew Bremberg, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, as well as Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions were appointed to serve as council co-chairs.
Although the executive order required the newly-created council to produce an initial timeline and action plan within 90 days of its inception, as of late December 2018 the preliminary report had not yet been published.
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Sources: www.whitehouse.gov, www.axios.com, www.thecrimereport.com, www.theamericanconservative.com
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